JOHN A. DIERDORFF

DIERDORFF--John A., of Manhattan and Rhinecliff, known as Jack to his many friends and his colleagues in journalism, passed away peacefully on August 8 at the Baptist Home in Rhinebeck after a long illness. He was 85. Jack's journalism career spanned more than seven decades, beginning with a mimeographed weekly newspaper that he started and ran for four years in grade school in Portland, OR, and ending with the online edition of Business Week in the early days of the Internet. Upon graduation from Yale in 1949, he returned to Portland as a reporter, and later Assistant Editor, of The Oregonian newspaper. He joined Business Week in 1956 and was Managing Editor at the time of his retirement in 1993. He then served as a consultant for 15 years, helping the magazine develop its online strategy. Jack was a lover of music, particularly jazz, classical music and opera, and served on the Board of Directors of the Bard Music Festival. He was an avid hiker, covering most of the northern Appalachian Trail. His lifelong love of trains prompted many rail excursions in North America, Europe and Asia. Jack's friend and partner of over 40 years, Alonzo Smith Jr., died in 2011. He is survived by his beloved brother David Dierdorff and sister-in-law Madeleine Lefebvre, of Juneau, AK. Jack headed the Coffee House club in New York City for many years. A memorial celebrating his life will be held there on the evening of October 2. For information, please e-mail: JackMemorialNYC@gmail.com